Tiger’s Destiny (5 page)

Kelsey?
Are you there?
It’s Kishan.

Kishan is here! I might still have to kill Lokesh, but I won’t have to do it alone!
I wondered if Mr. Kadam and Ren were also nearby.

If it weren’t for Lokesh’s prying eyes, I would have jumped for joy. Instead, I asked the Scarf to stitch a reply and pressed the cloth to the window.

Am okay.
Lokesh marrying me tomorrow night.
Cameras and guards everywhere.

I stifled a sob as the cloth twitched and the Scarf obeyed Kishan’s instructions. Flipping it over, I read:

Stall him as long as possible.
We have a plan.
We’re coming for you.

I pressed my hands against the glass and nodded. Staring through my window, I watched the woods for the longest time, searching for a flash of black or white.

The next morning, I anxiously rose from my bed and headed to the shower. I was exhausted in every way possible. I’d kept my emotions under such a tight rein; knowing that my imprisonment was almost over, one way or another, overwhelmed me to the point that I couldn’t hold them back anymore.

I worried about Ren and Kishan challenging Lokesh. I wondered if I would remain locked in my room while they fought and perhaps died. I thought about what would happen if they failed, and I ended up having to marry a monster.

Standing in a scalding shower, I cried quietly, hoping the steam that shrouded the mirror would also fog up any hidden cameras. Spent, I sank down until I sat back in the tub and let the hot water pummel my body until it turned cold.

Today could be the day I die.

With that morbid thought, I prepared for my wedding.

I took a long time drying and brushing my hair. Spending hours in the sun, hiking the jungles, and swimming in the ocean had bleached my brown hair, which now had champagne-blond highlights.
Mom would have liked it.
I wondered what she would have thought of my upcoming nuptials. It certainly wasn’t the wedding I’d envisioned for myself.

I had asked the Scarf to create a wedding dress befitting an ancient Chinese princess. I ignored it as long as I possibly could, but finally slid open the closet. I gasped at the silky red dress, which looked similar to the one the bride had worn at the wedding Li and I attended.

The gown was elaborate, and I was glad it would take me at least twenty minutes to put it on. It was trimmed in beads and elaborate gold stitching. There was a Mandarin style ruff attached to a golden tunic adorned with a large lotus blossom. Strings of beads crossed back and forth over the tunic, and its thick, embellished sleeves draped over my hands while the silky under sleeves extended at least a foot beyond my fingertips. On the thin apron of the tunic’s top layer, the Scarf had stitched a gorgeous fiery phoenix.

A long, golden scarf wrapped around my back and draped to the floor. I stepped into red silk slippers embroidered with golden flowers and fastened the pièce de résistance—a magnificent hairpiece with golden feathers and flowers, intricate braids, beads, and ornaments woven throughout.

I turned to gaze at my reflection. I looked like an exotic bird, a phoenix, in fact. Like the great bird, I was beautiful and vibrant, but I was also deadly; and soon, I would be consumed by fire.

I tucked the Scarf into one of my long sleeves, concealing it for later use. After dabbing a flowery perfume on my wrists and behind my ears, I sat down to await my groom.

Too soon, one of Lokesh’s servants came to collect me. He ogled my costume with a shocked expression, then quickly ducked his head and stayed as far away from me as he could.

Is he afraid of me? I wish Lokesh felt the same way.

The servant guided me to what looked like a small library and handed me a note and a box on his way out. I heard the click of the lock behind him and then silence.

I let out a pent-up breath and hoped that whatever plan Ren and Kishan had dreamed up would be put into motion before the wedding ceremony. Closing my eyes, I made a wish that we would all make it out alive.

I sat stiffly before opening Lokesh’s note, which said that we were to dine before a magistrate performed the ceremony. Tugging the white ribbon off, I opened the gift from my husband-to-be.

It was the biggest diamond I’d ever set eyes on. The stone was round, multifaceted, and pink. Two smaller pink diamonds were set on either side. It might have been my imagination, but the five prongs holding the large diamond into place looked like thick fingers. I imagined Lokesh’s own grasp—so strong there would be no hope for escape. I slipped the ring on my middle finger just as the doors opened.

“Ah, there you are, my dear. And what do you think of my gift?”

“It’s lovely.” I managed to give him a smile.

Something flashed in his black eyes, and he took a sudden step toward me. I stood proudly but inwardly cringed. He grabbed my chin and murmured softly with a repellent smile, “I shall enjoy tearing your pretty dress to pieces tonight. I do hope you’ll have enough spirit to make the evening interesting, Kelsey. I wouldn’t want to be disappointed.”

I jerked my chin away and leveled my eyes on him. “Believe me when I say that
all
my energies will be focused upon you tonight, my liege.”

Leering with anticipation, Lokesh took my arm and led me into the ballroom, which sparkled with the light of hundreds of candles and was perfumed by dozens of white flower arrangements. If it had been anyone else’s wedding, I might have appreciated the setting more.

We sat at a small, intimate table, and though my face was frozen into a plastic smile, beneath the many layers of sleeves, my hands were clenched into fists.

Lokesh clapped his hands to begin a traditional ten-course Chinese wedding feast, not unlike the one I ate with Li at his cousin’s wedding. There was shark’s fin soup, stuffed melon, two whole lobsters in garlic-butter sauce, five-spice beef, squab with noodles, roasted suckling pig with fried rice, sautéed prawns with honeyed peas, Peking duck, scallion-and-ginger fish, and pink buns filled with sweet lotus paste.

I tried to stretch out the meal by talking about the symbolism of each course, but Lokesh remained silent. In fact, all he seemed to be in the mood for was scrutinizing me. His dark gaze studied me like a hawk watching a rabbit.

At one point during the meal, I felt an icy touch find my ankle under my layered skirts. Slowly, the biting cold traveled up my bare leg and caressed my thigh. I wasn’t sure if he was using his air or his water power or a combination of both, but I kept silent and nibbled at the dinner as best I could.

The minutes ticked by, and still there was no sign of Ren and Kishan. If they didn’t make an appearance soon, I’d be Mrs. Lokesh Shu or whatever his last name was. I was on my own. Helpless darkness swelled within me. It overwhelmed me until I felt as heavy as a stone sinking into a muddy river. This was not what I’d envisioned for my future.

Instead of walking down the aisle to a man who looked at me with love and tenderness, I’d be walking toward a villain—someone who’d rather twist my arm than place it on his. Instead of Mr. Kadam taking my arm proudly, soothing my nerves, and giving me to the care of a man he called a son, I had no one. Instead of promises and sweet vows of love, I’d hear bubbly lies roiling with black filth. When the bubbles burst, I’d be covered in layers of corruption.

The feast was finally cleared away, and I couldn’t stall the wedding any longer. Lokesh took my hand.

“Are you ready, my dear?” Lokesh asked and, without waiting for my response, called for the magistrate to enter.

Though I wanted to wring my hands and run away, I placed my palm confidently in his and smiled. “Of course.”

“Shall we proceed?” asked a smooth, silky voice.

I gasped and whipped around. The magistrate’s blue eyes flashed with anger, and his priestly robes whipped behind him as he strode into the center of the room.
Ren!
I thought he was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

Weapons flew through the air. The
chakram
whirled, and darts from the trident sped toward Lokesh, who easily deflected them.

Lokesh gripped my arm and laughed. “Greetings, Dhiren. You must have received your invitation.”

“You will wed her over my dead body,” Ren threatened.

Lokesh shrugged. “As you wish.”

With a twitch of Lokesh’s fingers, Ren stopped moving.

Lokesh shifted his eyes nervously around the candlelit ballroom, seeking the black tiger.

Where is Kishan? I need to defrost Ren. Think, Kelsey. Think!

Seeing no other move, I draped my arm around Lokesh’s, hoped against hope, and asked, “Did you kill Ren?”

“No, my dear. He’s still alive.”

“Good,” I purred. Determined to act out my part well, I turned to Ren, gave him a pitying glance, and said, “It’s really too bad you had to find out this way. But since you’re here, you can be a guest at my wedding.”

Lokesh smiled and instructed the guards to find the real magistrate. Ren’s blue eyes burned into mine.

“Oh dear, how rude of me. Of course, a guest should kiss the bride,” I said mockingly before kissing the man who had come to save me, biting his lip until I drew blood.
I’m so sorry!
I thought, wishing Ren could read my mind . . . and then I slapped him square across his beautiful face.

His pupils widened with shock, and I imagined the sting in his heart was much greater than the sting on his cheek. Yanking the Scarf from my sleeve, I dabbed at his bruised lip and tucked it into his collar, clucking disdainfully as Lokesh laughed with glee.

I stayed long enough to see the light go out in Ren’s eyes. Turning back to Lokesh, I frowned. “But will he have a good view from all the way over here? I really think he should be moved, don’t you? I want him to have a clear picture of the man I chose over him.”

Lokesh pinched my cheek, twisting it harshly. “What a devious little vixen you are,” he said happily and watched with delight as I used the Scarf to bind Ren’s arms to his chest.

As soon as Ren was sufficiently tied up, Lokesh unfroze him. Ren’s muscles strained against the Scarf aggressively. I wiggled my fingers lightly against my skirt and shook my head, hoping he would understand my signals. Settling down, Ren relaxed and walked to the side of the make-shift altar.

Lokesh lifted his hands to freeze Ren again, but I cut him off by saying, “That will not be necessary, my love.”

I twisted my fingers, and the Scarf wrapped around Ren’s legs until he was mummy-wrapped from neck to feet

“You’ve done a magnificent job, my pet,” said Lokesh, “but I think I’ll keep his tongue frozen, at least for now. I wouldn’t want him spoiling our nuptials after all.”

“Wise decision. Shall we begin then? Did you find the magistrate?”

Lokesh clapped his hands, but not a single servant or the magistrate appeared. He shouted once, twice, and rang a bell in frustration. His only answer was an explosive blaze of fire burning from every candle in the room.

Lokesh raised his arms and tried to blow them out with a brisk wind, but the flames only rose higher. Grunting, he waved his hand and doused each candle with water as Ren looked on and smiled.

Sensing that things were afoul, the evil sorcerer took my arm, growled “Come with me!” and yanked me down the hallway to make a quick escape through the kitchen.

Silently, I instructed the Scarf to free Ren and weave him a message.

Try as he might, Lokesh couldn’t open the kitchen door. He used lightning but the blue crackle only left scorch marks on the wood. Finally, he ripped the door off its hinges.

I edged back a few feet while Lokesh stared incredulously at a room I’d filled to the top with chocolate cake. I smirked, pleased with myself, and explained, “A girl should be able to enjoy a little chocolate at her wedding, don’t you think?”

At my whispered word, the cake burst open and boiling chocolate fudge sauce spilled all over Lokesh. He screamed and turned toward me just as Kishan broke through the side door and ran into the hallway. A dead guard fell at his feet.

“Kishan!” I shouted, so happy I could have cried.

Kishan stopped only to throw me a wink before he raised his palm and sent off bubbles of light that exploded directly in front of Lokesh like a strobe firecracker. He screeched in pain and covered his eyes. Using both hands, Kishan shot several lightning bursts into Lokesh’s body.

Before I could give Kishan the biggest tiger hug he’d ever have, Ren joined us in the hall with my bow and arrows and the Golden Fruit. Without skipping a beat, he shot trident darts into Lokesh, who soon began to look like a spear pincushion, and then asked the Scarf to mummy-wrap him.

The Scarf sprang to life in Ren’s hands and spun long layers of linen. Tightly, it wove between the spear darts. Lokesh hollered in pain and spat out vehement words in Hindi and Chinese. His legs were bound together, and the Scarf’s wrappings twisted around his neck, looped around an awning, and raised his body off the floor. Lokesh twitched and bucked, and I momentarily turned away, not wanting to watch.

Somehow Lokesh managed to wrench his hands free, and his power slid over me immediately. It felt like he was scratching me, ripping my skin with his claws. Groaning, I wrapped my arms around my body, staggering and panting at the pain. Ren dashed to my side to catch me in his arms before I fell.

“I’ve got you,
iadala
,” Ren whispered softly.

Kishan blasted Lokesh again, and the pain began to fade.

Incredibly, Lokesh was still alive but in terrible agony. Kishan lit his mummy-wrap on fire, and then I heard an inhuman scream and smelled burning flesh. With a sudden whoosh of water, Lokesh put out the fire. It was going to take more than just flames to kill the sorcerer.

Ren lifted the Golden Fruit and a coating of oil slid over the water-soaked linens. Kishan lit it on fire again, and Lokesh’s body wrenched back and forth.

Recovered enough to move, I yanked on Ren’s shirt. “Let’s go!” I pressed, unable to witness the scene any longer.

I pushed the boys into the hall, shut the door, and rammed a fire poker through the handle, hoping Lokesh would either burn or hang or both. The house began shaking; his black magic created an earthquake.